


regarding tags on dtao3 (please read)

by Anonymous



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Gen, M/M, just a warning, please tag properly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:55:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28258824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: please give this a read if you are new to ao3/just started writing fanfiction/confused by tagging!!some basics because it has been bugging me a lot for a while(honestly the main motivation is how PEEPO ALWAYS TAG DREAMNOTFOUND AS DREAMNOTNAP!!!!!! STOP!!!!!1 /nm)-anon
Relationships: Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound/Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 33
Kudos: 84
Collections: anonymous





	regarding tags on dtao3 (please read)

_tagging on ao3_

* * *

_ratings_

ratings are a way for peepo to fliter what they read. often the ratings are left at 'not rated', but this is a basic summary of how a fic should be rated.

-general audiences

fic is pretty free of swearing (maybe a little here and there), absolutely no smut, little violence; used mostly for friendships but can be used for romantic stories.

-teen and up

there is swearing, mild violence. no smut. pretty sfw.

-mature

there are themes of violence that may be extreme. themes are heavy, and deal with problems that may or may not be triggering towards readers. (e.g.: depression, fight scenes with bloodshed, rape/non-con (if written inexplicitly).) This tag is heavy, and there will be a warning for users or guests that enable them to check a box before proceeding. it is not exactly safe for work.

-explicit

hoo boy. this one is exclusively for smut and rape/non-con written explicitly. (a/n: i heavily do not encourage romantisising rape/non-con. nor writing about it with real individuals either. smut is up to you, since the dteam has declared it legal.) please please tag your smut fics with this, so that peepo who want smut can filter it as well as those who do not. nsfw.

* * *

whether you're here to post or to read (logged in or as a guest), it's pretty much foundation knowledge to know what the relationship tags mean. 

- **< person a>/<person b>**: this means that there is implied/potential/future/ongoing romance between characters in question. may have more than two characters (in terms of a polyamorous relationship). 

e.g:

 _Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF)_ is dreamnotfound,

NOT

 _Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound/Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF)_.

scroll through the options and select _properly_. the amount of fics in the dreamnotnap tag that are dreamnotfound fics tagged wrongly is more than it should be. it messes with engagement of your stories and peepo who read the tags think that it is polyamorous when it is not. 

- **< person a>&<person b>**: this means that there is a friendship/mutual platonic relationships between characters in question. can be more than two characters because it is a friendship. this is NOT a romance tag. 

e.g: _Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF)_ does not mean that they have a friendship (slash means romantic). unless you are referring that they were previously friends, i suggest putting the relationship tag that is more important to the story. (tldr: tag slashed dnf if your story is about them falling in love. tag & dnf if they are just good friends in the fic.)

do NOT put the ship name in the relationship tags, either. 'dreamnotfound-relationship' will seem extremely unprofessional due to lack of capitals and lack of the structure <a>/<b> or <a>&<b>.*

moving on the character tags.

These tags are for you to place your characters that appear and interact with the story. tagging them with the official character tags will make your story seem a lot more professional. 

e.g:

_Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), Dave | Technoblade, Toby Smith | Tubbo, Wilbur Soot._

mentioned characters are usually tagged with <official tag character name> plus '(mentioned)'. they show up with the official character tag. _'GeorgeNotFound (mentioned)'_

do NOT put the character tags in the additional tags category. again, it’s unprofessional to see 'georgenotfound-freeform'. don't put relationships in additional tags. 

finally, additional tags.

these tags help the reader find what type of story specifically they want to read. tag your fics as 'fluff', 'angst', 'fluff and angst' APPROPRIATELY. also available is the tag 'light angst' and 'light fluff'. there are also such tags for explicit fiction, like 'fluff and angst and smut', which quite frankly i don't want to touch on. the explicit part of the fic list have quite a few used tags, and i think it will be better if you decided to try and see the additional tags by yourselves. 

I am a pretty occasional writer. on main i write more angst than fluff, so i use 'angst' and 'angst and fluff' a lot. 

i hope this helped. hope to see or hear of your future endeavors! :)

-anon

edit:

-incomplete works that are marked complete

a lot of times peepo mark their works as 1/1 even though there are future chapters. it will be marked as complete, so peepo who look for completed fics will be a bit turned off. there is an option on your works. 'this work will have multiple chapters'. tick the box, input the number of chapters it has. if unknown, put a "?" in the place of the number. this also kinda makes me feel a little annoyed. 

-appropriate warnings

in the additional tags category, please PLEASE remember to input the corresponding content warnings/trigger warnings. it may be damaging if no tws/cws are mentioned and the reader ends up scarred by the content. this is ESPECIALLY FOR mature-themed and explicit-themed elements. 

it will be good if the author’s note also displays these warnings.

*user has commented about my tone of writing on the usage of the ship name dnf in relationship tags. so sorry if it seemed passive-aggressive. edited to be more reasonable.

**Author's Note:**

> questions/comments idc, will try to answer if i need to
> 
> here is an [elaborated version](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28080729/chapters/68798643) on better fic categorising and tagging!


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